Condenser



Feb. 22, 1949. BYER 2,462,355

CONDENSER Filed June 26, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f 4) aj. @1612). 3.

14 1'3 INVENTOR. H EN RY E BY E R BY A T TOIQNEKS Feb. 22, 1949. H. E. BYER 2,462,355

CONDENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1945 JNVENTOR. H EN RY E. BYER decreases there Patented Feb. 22, 1949 2,462,355 CONDENSER Henry E. Byer, Bernardsville, N. J.

Application June 28, 1945, Serial No.

scrum.

This invention relates to condensers oi the varieiw having tall or drain pipes and is particularly concerned with improvements in said tall or drain pipes. It is especially useful in con- Junction with direct contact steam condensers wherein the steam condensing chamber is cleared of all 01' the waste water together with such air and non-condensabie gases as may be carried out with the water stream.

It has for one of its objects the remedying of a defect common therein which results from the currently employed method of sealing the open end of the barometric pipe directly in an open hotwell, against the surface 01' which atmospheric pressure acts.

The operational detect, shown by commercial experience, is that because of so submerging the barometric pipe, there is a "creep" in the vacuum carried in the condenser, due to atmospheric variation, resulting in a longer period of time to accomplish the processing being carried out. with ah increase in heat required to eflect it, and increased production c The above mentioned creep" occurs as the strong failing water current in the barometric drain leg acts to isothermally compress such air and non-condensable gases as may be cleared from the condenser head by the egress of the waste water therefrom. With the open end of the barometric pipe submerged in the hotwell as is currently practiced, the atmospheric pressure represents the terminal pressure in the above isothermal compression vacuum pressure in the condenser. the initial pressure. It will be apparent that with the terminal pressure constantly changing, there can be no stability to the compression cycle, which varies directly as does the sure acted against. The variation in the terminal pressure based on the U. 8. Weather Bureau New York city was .9 pound per square inch absolute. i. e., the barometer ranging from 30.72 inches to 28.92 inches cormoved with a resultant decrease in vacuum in the condenser. As the atmospheric pressure are slightly more air and noncycle, and the (UL 281I9) the gases are being carried along by the water stream a certain amount back into the condenser.

01 the gas will "slip- Also any undulations but well will accelerto atmosphere.

It must be understood that such vacuum changes in the condenser are so gradual as to require highly sensitive instruments not ordinarily employed in commercial operation to continuously record.

I remedy the above dei'ect by stabilizing the above mentioned hydraulic compression cycle by simple and cheaply made means, said means consisting of closing oi! the varying atmospheric exit point oi the barometric pipe and substituting for it an absolute pressure kept substantially constant between the atmospheric pressure and vacuum in the condenser by positive rariiying means. accomplish this I attach a closed chamber at the exit point of the barometric drain pipe into contents of the barometric pipe discharge. The water is removed from the closed chamber against atmospheric pressure, gas collecting chamber is provided above the water level in the chamber, with raritying means to maintain a constant pressure in said gas collecting chamber between atmospheric and that maintained in the condenser, irrespective 0! atmospheric pressure.

The maintaining at the discharge point oi the contents of the barometric leg pipe of the required constant absolute pressure is assured thereby, as well as a constant vertical height as regards the compressing liquid column flowing from the condenser head into said chamber, the variation in the atmospheric barometric pressure being compensated for by the means provided for the removal of the water from the chamber.

A further common defect in prior art structure is remedied by this invention. wh ch is the surging set up in the barometric leg pipe when starting up the condenser. The surging is directly the result of submerging the open end oi the barometric drain pipe built up while simultaneously the waste water begins to flow downwardly from the top of the pipe. barometric pipe is illled with atmospheric air as a result of being inoperative, non-condensable gases are entrapped between the two water columns. When gases impact, a heavy vertical surge in the barometric drain pipe develops rmultlng from the effect or the entrapped air to escape through the pipe into the hot well and such a surge can momentarily (as proved in commercial operation) be so violent as to throw some of the injection water back into the steam inlet pipe with consequent loss of commercial product or damage to the apparatus being served.

The above defect is remedied by my invention through employment of a by-pass pipe with shut oi! valve therein located between the gas collecting chamber of my invention and the lower end of the barometric pipe. With the condenser shut down. the barometric pipe is filled with atmospheric air and by first opening the valve .in said by-pass, the rarifying means provided to rarify the gas collecting chamber will simultaneously rarily the barometric pipe and condenser. The valve in the by-pass pipe is then closed and the injection water is started through the condenser. When the falling water current meets the rising water column, mospherlc air present to cause any surging.

While my invention may be used in connection with drain pipes employed with barometric. semibarometrlc, or low level types of condensers, one form which my invention may assume is exempliiled in the following description and indicated on the following drawings, in which a barometric condenser is indicated.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical broken view. section, of one form of the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the lower portion of the tail pipe, chamber. and hotwell of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is generally similar to Figure 1 with the exception that a modified form of chamber is shown.

Figure 5 is a vertical section of the lower portion of the tail pipe and chamber of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a section taken along the lines 6-8 of Figure 5.

Condenser ll (Figure 1) may be any type of direct contact condenser having a tail pipe ll of the barometric variety. Hot well I! has weir ii to retain water I. at a level 80 as indicated. The water or liquid spills over weir i8 and may flow through passage it to waste. Outlet ii of tail pipe ii is connected to flange H of enclosed chamber ll. Chamber it has a central drain pipe is creating a catch basin or receptacle therein. the upper edge III of said pipe being located at a height discussed hereafter. The upper portion or gas collecting space ll of chamber it has an air removal means 22 connected to outlet flange 23, said air removal means being oi any suitable type. a steam jet vacuum pump being illustrated. Steam jet air pump 2! may discharge to the atmosphere through exhaust opening 5!. Water M in the hot well will seal the wastewater outlet ll of chamber ll.

Air and non-condensable gases carried into closed chamber ll by the propelling liquid stream discharging through barometric pipe ll will be evacuated from space 2i by steam jet air pump 22, the bending in path of the gases serving to facilitate their removal from the liquid. It is to be noted that there is a change in path from the tail pipe upwardly into the chamber and a second change as water ilows over edge it downwardly.

there will be substantially no atpartially in 1 these two water columns and 2 I. the maximum height 29 4 After the condenser is started, water will flow down tail pipe I l and will overflow the top of tube 20 into the hot well through waste water outlet 24.

Steam jet air pump 22 maintains a substantially constant absolute pressure in chamber 21 which is between atmospheric pressure and the absolute pressure maintained in the condenser, as will be explained hereafter. Vacuum relief valve 26 of the inward opening spring resisting type is provided so as to assist the pump in maintainin the absolute pressure, or rarefaction relative to atmosphere, constant within space I I, as the air and non-condensables delivered into chamber Ii will vary during the operating period oi the condenser. As is well known, a steam jet air pump is not readily regulatable so the vacuum relief valve can be used in conjunction therewith to assist in maintaining the desired substantially constant pressure in chamber space 2!. Other devices may be used to maintain a predetermined pressure therein or a regulatable vacuum pump employed.

By-pass valve 21 is provided in connection 28 so as to facilitate starting of the condensing system to prevent undesirable surges. When the condenser is to be started, valve 21 is opened and steam jet pump 2! turned on so as to remove air from space 2i and from within the tail pipe I l, the water therein before condenser operation taking the levels shown in Figure 2. Removal of atmospheric air from the tail pipe will prevent any surging action in barometric tail pipe H, which would otherwise occur through the eflorts of the volume of entrapped air in the pipe to escape through the bottom opening of the barometric pipe.

The predetermined degree or vacuum or absolute pressure to be carried in gas collecting space II is so arranged that the operating height 29 of the surface 50 of water in the outlet well i! always will be safely below the water overflow level iii. Height 29 should in general be about two feet which represents the usual range in annual local variation of atmospheric barometric pressure. This will vary, of course. in accordance with local conditions. The water levels 30 and 29 indicated in Figure 2 are those before the condenser is started.

Taking the example previously mentioned of a maximum barometer pressure of 30.72 inches and minimum of 28.92 inches (equivalent to 15.10 pounds and 14.2 pounds, respectively) representing a variation of .9 pound per square inch absolute, if a degree of rarefaction of 14.05 pounds absolute (28.6 inches Bar.) is provided in space will never exceed two feet five inches, and the overflow level ill of the tube is can be set at a height of three feet above the hot well water level I0. By this arrangement it is assured that the level of the water in the catch basin 2! of chamber ii in which the barometric pipe ii is sealed will never vary irrespective of any barometric pressure change. There also is assured an unvarying depth and head of water column between the water level at 20 and the water level of the column Si in the tail pipe H, with the condenser in operation, this depth being indicated as 56 in Figure l. The overflow level governed by the top 20 of tube i9 is entirely independent of the varying height of the water column 31 (top of operating surface indicated at 5B) in the waste water conduit l9.

Depending upon the operating cycle of the steam condenser as regards load, the air and non-condensable gaseous content of the water column discharging through barometric pipe ii will vary. In the cycle herein, the steam jet II removes such air and non-condensable gases for discharge to atmosphere and is prevented irom exceeding the predetermined operating condition. or absolute pressure to be maintained, through the relief valve 26 being set to admit suflicient air to so accomplish. As the vacuum maintained by pump 21 in the gas collecting space II is low, the size of the vacuum pump is small and the power to operate it also small.

An alternative form is shown in Figures 4, and 6, wherein the condenser is indicated at 33 and the tail pipe at 30. Chamber 3! has steam iet air pump 36 connected thereto with an air outlet 6|. Partition 3'! maintains level 38 within the closed chamber 85. The waste water outlet is down column 39 through opening 40 below the shell of chamber 35 to hot well II. The water level 42 in hot well II is maintained by weir 43. Valve 44 is connected from gas collecting space 5 to tail pipe 48 through connection 41. This connection is usable in the starting oi the condenser in the same manner as connection Ill and valve 21 of Figure 2. Vacuum relief valve 51, similar to valve 26 of Figure 2, may be provided. It is to be understood that various means oi pressure control in the gas collecting chamber may be employed.

The operation of the device of Figures 4, 5 and 6 is similar to that of Figures 1, 2 and 3.

The water coming down tail pipe 46 has its directicn reversed at the bottom of the pipe and again at the top of the catch basin 52 as said water flows over the top of the partition 31. In this manner, separation of the air and noncondensable gases is facilitated. The terms air" and "gas" are used interchangeably.

It is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the forms specifically illustrated without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a condensing system of the character described, a barometric tail pipe adapted to be connected to a direct contact condenser, a closed chamber around the outlet of said tail pipe, a partition forming a catch basin inside said chamher, said tail pipe emptying into said catch basin, means to maintain an absolute pressure in said chamber between atmospheric and that of said condenser and remove gases from the top of said chamber, and an atmospheric seal tank surrounding the bottom of said chamber through which liquid is removed there being an outlet from said chamber into said seal tank.

2. In a condensing system including a direct contact condenser, a barometric tail pipe connected to said condenser, an atmospheric liquid seal tank into which said tail pipe discharges, a chamber connected to said seal tank and enclosing the tail pipe exit end, said chamber having a gas collecting space above the tail pipe exit end, the discharge point from said tail pipe into said seal tank being spaced at all times from the liquid level of said seal tank, gas removal apparatus connected to said gas collecting space, said gas removal apparatus maintaining substantially constant absolute pressure in said chamber between atmospheric and that to be maintained in said condenser whereby changes in atmospheric pressure do not substantially atfect the condenser pressure.

3. A direct contact condensing system including a gravitational barometric tail pipe adapted to be connected to a. direct contact condenser, a

closed chamber surrounding the outlet end 0! said tail pipe to receive liquid flowing from said outlet, an air removal means connected to the top oi said chamber to separate air and gases from gravitationally flowing liquid in said tail pipe, and an atmospheric seal tank connected to the bottom of said chamber through which liquid is removed. the discharge point from said tail pipe into said seal tank being spaced at all times from the liquid level of said seal tank.

4. In a condensing system including a direct contact condenser, a barometric tail pipe adapted to be connected to a direct contact condenser, a closed chamber into which liquid Irom said tail pipe may flow. means to remove gases from the upper part of said chamber, said means connected to said chamber subjecting said chamber to an absolute pressure therein between atmospheric and that in said condenser, anatmospheric liquid seal tank connected to the bottom of said chamber, and a partition, said partition forming a, catch basin in said chamber and having a height above the liquid level of said seal tank greater than the greatest variation in liquid level in said chamber due to atmospheric pressure variation whereby the pressure in the condenser is not substantially affected by variations in atmospheric pressure.

5. In a condensing system, closed chamber, a gravitational barometric tail pipe connected to a direct condenser and terminating near the bottom of said chamber, a. vertical partition inside said chamber defining a catch basin into which said tail pipe empties, liquid from said tail pipe flowing upwardly over the top of said vertical partition, a discharge conduit connected to the side of said partition opposite to the tail pipe, said discharge conduit leading into an atmospheric seal tank, and a gas removal means connected to the top of said chamber.

6. In a device of the character described the combination of a barometric direct contact steam condenser, a gravitational barometric waste pipe connected thereto, encasement means surrounding the opening of said waste pipe, said encasement means having a gas collecting means at its top and a. liquid seal waste pipe at its bottom, an atmospheric seal tank surrounding the bottom of said encasement, the discharge point from said barometric waste pipe into said liquid seal waste pipe being at all times spaced from liquid level in said liquid seal waste pipe, rarification means, and means to control said rarification means to provide a degree of rarification in said chamber to prevent flooding of the gas collection chamber.

'7. A barometric type condensing system including a direct contact condenser, a barometric tail pipe connected to said condenser, a gas collecting chamber connected to the exhaust of said tail pipe, gas removal means connected to said chamber to maintain said chamber at a pressure between that in the condenser and atmospheric pressure, an a liquid removal means connected to said chamber sealing said gas collecting chamber from atmosphere, the discharge point 01 said tail pipe into said liquid removal means being spaced at all times from the liquid level of said removal means.

8. In a condensing system, an enclosed chamber, gravitational liquid leg barometric tail pipe connected to a direct contact condenser and to said chamber to provide a change in direction oi! the liquid as the chamber is entered thereby, a discharge outlet from said chamber into an atmospheric liquid seal tank surrounding the bot- 7 tom of said chamber, the discharge point from said tail pipe into said seal tank being spaced at N n all times from the liquid level of said seal tank. $2? and means at the top of said chamber to remove 1,002.81 gases and subject the chamber to an absolute I 7 095 pressure between atmospheric and that 01' the 1.275350 condenser to which the tail pipe is connected. 3,457,153 my 1:. BYER. 1321.953

nemanxcns crmn Number The following references are of record in the 438,155 me of this patent: 528,847 565,234

UNITED STATES PATENTS Nam- Date Weiss Oct. 4. 1904 Tomllnson Sept. 5, 1911 Fischer Mar. 28, 1916 Baumann Aug. 27, 1918 Elliott May 29, 1928 Powell Mar. 22, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France May 9, 1912 France Nov. 19, 1921 Germany Nov. 28, 1832 

